Systems for automating pharmacy operations are useful for reducing the cost of running a pharmacy. For example, a canister that automatically counts medication for dispensing eliminates the need for a pharmacist or technician to manually count individual pills when filling a prescription. However, such canisters are generally configured for a given medication. Obtaining new canisters for each new medication can be costly, and experimenting with existing containers to determine an appropriate canister for a new medication can be time-consuming and difficult. With the advent of large-scale pharmacies serving sizeable populations, such as nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and/or the like, the problems of dealing with many types of medication and managing canister configurations are exacerbated even further.
What is needed are systems and methods for dispensing a large variety of changing medications in a more efficient and cost-effective manner.